Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.” (Proverbs 20:7)

Probably no other endeavor has more lasting impact than the influence we parents have on our children. We may well quote Proverbs 22:6 , “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it,”or, Paul’s advice to fathers, “bring (your children) up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) We should not, however, interpret that to mean merely “Laying Down the Law.” Actions speak much louder than even well-intentioned words.
Consider Barnabas, The Encourager. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” (Acts 11:23, 24a, NIV.) If our lifestyle follows that of Barnabas, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, setting an example for others to observe, well and good.
If our words are not consistent with our actions, if they see us leading a worldly lifestyle, filled with self-interest, overly competitive by nature, not only in sports, but also in business, politics, and on the highway, we can rightly expect them to follow that example.
A child is stained by people they come in contact with, every bit as much as my hands were stained brown while gathering walnuts (a fall ritual and a badge of honor for me as a boy but the despair of my mother.) The stain would eventually wear off, but, for a time, bore evidence of my brief contact with the walnuts. The stain of our influence, for better or for worse, may forever mark a child
I recently witnessed a beautiful example of proper parenting at the supermarket. A mother and her preschool age daughter were shopping together. The girl wasn’t riding in the cart; she was picking out each item to place in it. As they moved along the isles, the mother would discuss each item on the list, sometimes making suggestions, at other times allowing the girl to make the choice. They worked together. No conflict between a harried mother and crying child here!
I believe that this mother will soon be able to trust her daughter to not only do the shopping, but to make wise selections. To train up a child means developing a trusting, loving relationship, tenderly encouraging and guiding the child a step at a time toward a lifestyle that will last forever.

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Retaliation
* Scripture: Jesus said, " . . .the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Luke 9:56, NKJV

It hath been said, "Don't get mad - get even." Ah! Sweet revenge! "Do unto others if they do it to you - an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Jesus spoke about retaliation in the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5:38, adding, in effect, 'But if you follow My teaching, you won't act like that.' Rather, His disciples are to turn the other cheek and to love their enemies.
Why? "That you may be (children) of your Father in heaven." (Mt. 5:45)
Think about that in terms of an earthly family. Parents are responsible for providing for their children's welfare. Children are to be obedient, and are under the authority of a parent or guardian until the age of majority, the age at which full civil rights are accorded.
At what point in our Christian journey, then, do we grow up enough that we cease to be "children" of God? Is there a time when we can presume to become independent of God, a time when we can literally 'take over the business,' and run things our own way?
I bring up this point to invite you to consider how we should react to some of the challenges that face us as Christians. When people say bad things about Christianity, about religion in general, or take God's name in vain, the urge to retaliate is very real.
There have been periods in history where the overly zealous attempted to advance the cause of the church at the point of the sword. In essence, some have said, "If you don't love God, I'll kill you."
My chosen scripture verse speaks to the point of treatment of those who reject The Christ. Jesus' disciples wanted to command fire to come down from heaven and consume those people (Samaritans) who did not receive Him. (Lk. 9:51-56) Jesus said, "No!"
If it is not the purpose of the Son of Man (Christ) to destroy such people, then what are we to do?
We are to love God, and our neighbor as ourselves. Who is our neighbor? All people- for all belong to God. That includes those we might consider to be enemies. "Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." (Mt. 5:44)
Children of God are not in a position of greater authority to change that teaching. When disciples pray, "Your will be done" (Lord's Prayer) Christians indicate submission to the dominion and authority of God in their lives.
(Quotations from the NKJV)
September 24, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* The Better Part
* Scripture: Gideon said, “ Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?” Judges 8:2b, NKJV

Anyone who has had to deal with more than one child at mealtime has likely had to mediate the “She got more than me!” battle. Isn’t it amazing how the other piece of pie, the slab of cake, always looks bigger on the other plate. Or, as the farmer said to his cow as she leaned over the fence, “The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?”
Sadly, it is not just children and livestock that want their full share, and maybe just a little bit more. Groups, clans, even nations, are subject to this malady. At the least, there is grumbling and ill will; at the worst, envy, jealousy, and anger.
Let’s take a look at just one of many examples found in the Bible.
If you have been around for awhile, you have heard the story of Gideon in the Book of Judges. How God called him to save Israel from the Midianites, the tests that eliminated all but three-hundred men, and the night time raid that sent the Midianite army, “as numerous as locusts” (Judges 7:12), fleeing in disorder. Oh, how we thrill at the hearing of the God-inspired selection of these few men, of how their torches and trumpets terrified the enemy so much that they struck out against even their own brethren with their swords. (7:22)
Most of the sermons that I have heard end there with the enemy fleeing before Gideon’s “army.” But that is not the end of the battle, nor the tie-in that I must make with my lead-in about squabbling over one’s portion.
Follow up by reading Judges 7:24, 25. Gideon sent word to the men of the tribe of Ephraim AFTER the Midianite’s camp was abandoned, instructing them to seize the fleeing Midianites as they tried to cross back over the Jordan River. This they did, and captured two Midianite princes in the process. (Think sacking the quarterback in football!) Were the Ephraimites happy? No way! They likely missed out on looting the Midianite camp - the old “You got something that we didn’t!” complaint. They were angry!
The key to understanding Gideon’s reply lies in the word ‘gleaning.’ God made provision for the welfare of the poor by instructing the landowners to leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and to leave some of the fruit in the orchards and vineyards. The people who gathered those set-aside crops were called “gleaners.”
Gideon’s father was Joash, the Abiezrite. Thus, the Ephraimites ‘gleaned’ a greater honor than did Gideon’s army.
“You’ve got the better part!”
Think about it.
September 18, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Conclusions
* Scripture: Jesus said, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.” Mt. 11:18-19, NKJV

An incident that happened to me while growing up on the farm brought home the full meaning of the maxim “Look before you leap.”
We had a lane, an unpaved path, connecting several fields with the buildings in the farmyard. One low spot was a perennial mud hole, stirred up into a gooey slop from vehicle and livestock traffic. As I rode my bicycle down the lane to fetch the cows in for the evening milking, I noted a pile of gravel that Dad had apparently brought in to fill the mud hole. Wow! A launch pad, just waiting to shoot me into the wild blue yonder.
Peddling furiously, I strove for takeoff speed. Up, up, up, perfect form! From my elevated viewpoint, I now had a full view of my landing point. Alas! Bicycles have neither air brakes nor wings. I quickly understood why Dad had not yet spread the gravel; he had dug a ditch to install a drainage pipe in the wet area, which now lay open before me. The laws of physics and gravity kicked in big time. Bicycle, boy, and bold aspirations of flight reached the lowest common denominator.
A quick survey from the bottom of the ditch determined that the major damage was to my dignity, but my collective wisdom clicked up another notch.
Add this thought to your maxim collection: “If in doubt, check it out.” My pride would not have taken such a tumble, for example, had I simply checked out both sides of that gravel pile.
What does this have to do with the chosen scripture passage? Well, hopefully it will serve to illustrate that leaping to conclusions can result in bad decisions, just like blindly jumping a gravel pile.
Jesus was likening his contemporary generation to children at play, comparing their refusal to join either a mock funeral or a mock marriage in the marketplace to the people’s refusal to accept either John the Baptist or Jesus. Instead, they stood aloof from both, making excuses based on wrong conclusions about them (vss. 16, 17.)
Seen from the proper perspective, neither John nor Jesus were in error. John was following the tenets of the Nazarite vow, as established in the Laws of Moses, and was not to eat nor drink anything from the grapevine. Matthew, Chapter 11, affirms that John’s behavior was consistent with prophecy and scripture, and their conclusions about him illustrated their lack of knowledge.
Likewise, their conclusions about Jesus were in error. Jesus points out that the well have no need of the physician, and that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. (Mt. 9:12, 13)
True wisdom is not found in the “children” who stand aloof, but in those who accept Jesus and John.
Yes, jumping to conclusions is indeed a tricky business.
July 10, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* It Might Have Been
* Scripture: Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.” Mark 8:36, NKJV

Baseball catcher Yogi Berra is reputed to have said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Well, I suppose one could just sit there, in a state of stultification, or turn around and go back. Chances are, though, one fork or the other will be taken. Choices, decisions, alternatives. If this, then - What? What will the answer be?

John Greenleaf Whittier brought two people to such a fork in the road in his poem, “Maud Muller.” Maud was a farm girl, “Of simple beauty and rustic health,”raking hay in the meadow on a summer’s day, when a Judge stopped his horse to rest in the shade of a tree, and asked the maid for a drink of water. While he tarried, they:

“talked of the haying, and wondered whether
The cloud in the west would bring foul weather.”

When he at last rode away, Maud’s thoughts wandered to what it would be like that she the Judge’s bride might be.

“He would dress me up in silks so fine. . . ”

The Judge looked back at Maud and considered her pastoral world - the

“low of cattle and song of birds,
And health and quiet and loving words.
But he thought of his sisters, proud and cold,
And his mother, vain of her rank and gold.
So, closing his heart, the Judge rode on,
And Maud was left in the field alone.“

The years pass, and their roads diverge:

“He wedded a wife of richest dower,
Who lived for fashion, as he for power . . . .”

“She wedded a man unlearned and poor,
And many children played round her door.”
Often over the years each thought back to that summer day:
“In the shade of the apple-tree again
She saw a rider draw his rein;
And, gazing down with timid grace,
She felt his pleased eyes read her face.”

while he wished to be

“Free as when I rode that day,
Where the barefoot maiden raked her hay.”

Oh! For the fork in the road not taken.
Choices, decisions, alternatives.

“Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!
God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.”

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: `It might have been!`”

As Jesus observed, many take the fork that promises the “riches” of the the world, only to find that it leads to a soul lost for eternity. Too late, too late, one can then only look back and sigh, “It might have been.”
May 8, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Roosters
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Ephesians 5:25, NKJV

It’s time to have a little talk about -
Roosters!
The males of domestic fowl, roosters, do far more than sit on the barn roof, crow at dawn, and preen their feathers. They are a very active presence in the flock.
I’ve been observing about twenty chickens as they roam the barnyard area, pretty much free to do whatever chickens do. This is a mixed flock, including small bantams and larger ‘heavy’ breeds, so I think the sample size is large and diverse enough that the behaviors I will describe apply to roosters in general.
Yes, roosters do crow, at any time throughout the day, and they also cackle, cluck, and sing various chicken songs.
Roosters will often try out a nest before entrusting it to their favorite hen companion, and then stand guard duty while the hen lays her egg. Both then announce their pride over the freshly laid egg with gusto - a raucous cackling and sing-song ode to joy.
I once watched as two hens with chicks got into a territorial spat. A rooster quickly intervened, and sent them on their way, a peacekeeper, no less! Roosters can also be very protective and aggressive, especially if something threatens one of the flock.
I got to thinking about the positive attributes of the rooster in chicken society as I observed a rooster find a tasty morsel under the bird feeder, and then allow the hen to come over and pick it up, rather than eat it himself.
Now that rooster doesn’t even read, let alone read the Bible! Yet that bird, in a natural state, embodied many of the things that the Bible tells us we should do to emulate Christ. To paraphrase Jesus, talking about parents giving gifts to children, in Matthew 7:11, If even a rooster can do these things, how much more will the Heavenly Father do good things for you!
(Note that the Golden Rule is given in the following verse, Mt. 7:12, concerning doing for others as you would have them do for you.)
We sometimes hear the excuse that people who are rough and rowdy are just being ‘natural’. The next time that someone pulls that line on you, just tell them that even a rooster does better than that.
Take time to read Ephesians chapters 5 and 6, as well as Peter’s advice on the matter, 1 Peter, chapter 3.
Living together in harmony is sometimes a tough challenge. We need all the help we can get, even from a rooster.
April 24, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* The Autoharp
* Scripture: Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV

In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody
With heaven’s harmony; (Elton M. Roth, 1924)

The children sat in rapt anticipation as the young teacher carefully opened the case and took out the autoharp, laying it tenderly across her lap. Taking up the felt pick, she swiftly strummed across the strings; the chords rang out strong and vibrant. Quickly, all were engaged in the joy of singing their favorite songs, led by the rhythm of the singing strings.
The teacher married, and soon took time out from the classroom to raise a family. The autoharp was set aside, as other duties crowded in. It was finally put away in the attic, away from the classroom, away from the children.
Times change; the teacher returned to the school, but in a different capacity. She no longer led the children in singing. The autoharp sat silent, neglected.
One day, as she sat listening to a man playing his autoharp in church, she remembered the instrument that had shared her early teaching moments. Retrieving it from its repose in the attic, she presented it to the musician, in hopes that it would once again stir voices in song.
But, Alas! Time and humidity had taken their toll, and the soundboard had warped so badly that many strings could no longer vibrate.
It sat mute for for several more years, but at least in the company of another autoharp. Not out of mind, but not capable of singing out, either. Finally, the day came when the musician had need of another instrument. Quietly studying the warped and twisted condition, he decided the only remedy was to strip the auto harp down to the basic frame, and rebuild it.
The frame was strengthened with dowel pins, and reglued. A new soundboard was installed. The time finally came when the strings were reinstalled over the newly stained and varnished instrument. Slowly, one by one, the strings were brought up to proper pitch. Slowly, lest the stress be too much too soon.
The musician recalled some words to fit the occasion;

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain,
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.
(He Keeps Me Singing, Luther Burgess Bridgers, 1910)

One might say that the autoharp has been reborn. It will in fact return to the classroom, ringing out its chords and leading children in the joy of song.
I think there might be a message here for all who seek it out.
April 3, 2005